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Tenth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

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Brandan Wright is easily the most athletic big man the Dallas Mavericks have put on the floor since ... well, Tyson Chandler. Wright, the Human Pogo Stick or the Human Exclamation Point as a certain colleague of mine dubbed him this season, brought a high level of energy and excitement -- and a higher level of two-handed alley-oop slams -- as he earned more and more playing time.

The former lottery pick of the Golden State Warriors provided two areas that the Mavs' sorely lacked and will look to gain more of this offseasaon -- youth, he's only 24, and athleticism. He's a high-motor big man who can run the floor. He has soft hands and is an impeccable finisher around the rim with a nice array of moves -- he boasted a team-best 61.8 shooting percentage.

The biggest issue with Wright is where he fits. His natural position is power forward, but coach Rick Carslisle converted him to center because Dallas obviously has Dirk Nowitzki entrenched there and at the time they believed Lamar Odom would fill the bill when Nowitzki sat. At center, Wright started out on the depth chart behind Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi, but as the season wore on the spindly-framed Wright at times logged more minutes than the others.

Until the playoffs.

And that's the conundrum with Wright. He hasn't developed a mid-range game to be able to play power forward effectively in Dallas' offense and he's not physically strong enough to consistently defend the center position. When he got his brief chance to play in the first round against Oklahoma City he had a serious case of butterfingers and the moment, the first playoff action of his career, seemed a bit too big. He played a total of 26 minutes in the series with a high of eight in the Game 3 blowout.

But at less than $1 million last season and next (assuming the Mavs pick up the team option), Wright is cheap, cheap labor and a talent worth trying to develop for the long run. In fact, he could be a talent the Mavs must develop for significant minutes next season because the center position at the moment is in total chaos.

Haywood is a prime candidate for the amnesty provision and Mahinmi is a free agent with no guarantee that he'll be back. Dallas won't dare go into the regular season with Wright as its primary man to patrol the paint, but he could certainly be relied upon to become a prime player.

The Countdown winds down a second week with No. 6...

BRANDAN WRIGHT
Pos.: C/PF
Ht./Wt.: 6-foot-10, 210
Experience: 4 years
Age: 24 (Oct. 5, 1987)
2011-12 stats: 6.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 16.1 mpg, 49 G
Contract status: Team option for next season
2011-12 salary: $915,852
2012-13 salary: $947,907

His story: Perseverance has Wright on the right track to remove his name from the long list of lottery busts and onto a more flattering one of productive rotation players. Drafted eighth overall in 2007 by Charlotte and traded to Golden State for Jason Richardson, Wright was buried on Don Nelson's bench and then injured his shoulder during an October 2009 practice. Surgery sidelined him the entire season and the next year the Warriors traded Wright to the New Jersey Nets. In his first three seasons, Wright played in 114 games so the 49 he got in this season was something of a landmark, a career-high he hopes to build upon. He's already been busy back in the gym, proving it by tweeting pictures. "I worked really hard to get back where I am," Wright said at the end of the season. "I'm blessed to have the opportunity to heal up from those injuries. This is a process and you’ve got to stick with it. When you start thinking like that (negatively), it's easy to start slacking off with rehab or getting back to where you want to be."

His outlook: Wright has to feel good that the Mavs will pick up his option (it would certainly seem to be a no-brainer). The real question is whether Carlisle will continue to try to mold him into a center or if power forward can be an option now that Odom is out of the picture and Shawn Marion (if he returns) might seem better off exclusively, or close to exclusively, at small forward. Wright believes he can develop a consistent mid-range jumper that could force defenses to extend out, providing the spacing the Mavs need to operate their halfcourt sets. He also needs to add muscle to his 210-pound frame (for a bit of reference, 6-5 guard Dominique Jones weighs 215 pounds) so he can hold his ground defensively at either the 4 or 5. If he can do that and sharpen his jumper, combined with his vertical jump and ability to finish at the rim, Wright could eventually live up to his lottery-pick status.

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Ian Mahinmi
No. 8 Vince Carter
No. 7 Rodrigue Beaubois
No. 6 Brandan Wright
No. 5 Coming Monday

Sixth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

The curious case of Kelenna Azubuike as a member of the Dallas Mavericks started March 22 when the club released athletic big man Sean Williams, who had spent most of the season with the D-League Texas Legends.

A week earlier, the San Antonio Spurs had traded for Stephen Jackson and were closing in on signing Boris Diaw to bolster their roster for a deep playoff run. What were the defending champion Mavericks up to in releasing Williams and opening a spot on the 15-man roster? Who was on their radar that could provide an immediate jolt one month from the true start of their title defense?

Last year, Dalllas signed veteran sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and the move paid off handsomely. At this point in the season, they could use someone like him. Three-point shooting -- heck, shooting in general --- had taken a significant dip throughout the truncated schedule and the Mavs would need firepower down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Could 3-point specialist Jason Kapono, recently released by the Lakers, be on his way? Maybe the 6-foot-7 Andres Nocioni? Sure, he was down on his luck, but still he was a 37.3 percent 3-point shooter throughout his career.

Turns out Kapono wasn't coming and neither was Nociono.

Who'd the Mavs have up their sleeve?

Azubuike, an intriguing shooting guard, oh, about three seasons ago before a torn patellar tendon put his career on indefinite hold.

And the Countdown ticks down to No. 10 ...

KELENNA AZUBUIKE
Pos: SG
Ht/Wt: 6-5, 215
Experience: 5 years
Age: 28 (Dec. 16, 1983)
2011-12 stats: Played total of 18 minutes in three games
Contract status: Team option for next season
2011-12 salary: $280,192
2012-13 salary: $992,680

His story: The Mavs signed the 6-foot-5 London native March 23. This was not a shot-in-the-arm acquisition like the S-Jax trade or the Diaw signing the Spurs pulled off (and are now reaping the benefits). Azubuike was starting to make a name for himself in 2008-09 with the Golden State Warriors when the formerly undrafted free agent averaged 14.4 points and 5.0 rebounds and knocked down 3-pointers at a 44.8-percent clip. He was a heck of an athlete built for an up-and-down game. Then came the devastating patellar tendon injury nine games into the 2009-10 season. The impatient Warriors traded him to the New York Knicks, who waived him Feb. 28, 2011. On March 23, 2012, Azubuike got another chance in the NBA, thanks to the Mavs, who knew he wouldn't be helping them to defend the title. So what were the Mavs' hopes in signing him? An inexpensive option with hopeful upside at shooting guard and/or small forward for next season? Perhaps. After all, Jason Terry will likely be moving on and so could be Shawn Marion, maybe even Rodrigue Beaubois and Vince Carter, too, depending on various factors in Dallas' venture into free agency. Interestingly, Azubuike, after playing just three regular-season games with Dallas, was on the active roster in the first round against Oklahoma City, taking the spot of second-year guard and 2010 first-round draft pick Dominique Jones.

His outlook: The Mavs believe they have the best head athletic trainer in the game today in Casey Smith and an elite orthopedic crew headed by team doc T.O. Souryal. Azubuike will be three years removed from the horrific knee injury that put his burgeoning career in jeopardy and one that remains terribly difficult to watch on YouTube. But here's the hope for Azubuike: A second surgery in March 2011 was performed to fix the first surgery that wasn't done properly. Azubuike confirmed that fact on Twitter in March 2011, saying: "The 1st surgery in '09 wasn’t done right. Gettin it done right this time!” The Mavs' medical and training staffs have a track record with patellar tendon injuries after Caron Butler's awful injury on Jan. 1, 2011, in Milwaukee, which happens to be where Azubuike also blew up his knee. There's no guarantee that the the former Kentucky Wildcat will ever regain his explosiveness, but watching Butler this season with the Los Angeles Clippers has to be encouraging that he can at least be a productive player. At less than $1 million next season, Azubuike is low-risk and if he turns out to be high-reward, the Mavs will have made a shrewd move at a time when many were scratching their heads at the timing of the signing.

No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Brendan Haywood
No. 10 Kelenna Azubuike
No. 9 Coming Tuesday

Fourth in a 15-part series ranking the Mavericks' 2011-12 roster in importance of bringing back next season.

Will the lasting impression of Dominique Jones as a Dallas Maverick be the "2011" neck tattoo with the Larry O'Brien Trophy serving as the first "1"? Jones had the striking image inked after the title run, one in which the then-rookie did not play one second.

Placing Jones in the 12-hole could be considered gracious considering the second-year shooting guard from South Florida was not active for any of the playoff games in the sweep against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Who took Jones' roster spot? Kelenna Azubuike, a player the Mavs acquired in late March and who had not played in an NBA game since early 2009 because of a patella tendon injury.

That's gotta hurt, and I'm talking about Jones' pride, not Azubuike's now-rehabilitated knee.

To suggest that Jones could be swept out in a trade, perhaps as early as the June draft, is not a stretch. Jones is a likable kid, but if anyone thought he was making any progress over these two seasons, coach Rick Carlisle's playoff roster seemed to tell the real story.

The Countdown continues at No. 12...

DOMINIQUE JONES
Pos: SG
Ht/Wt: 6-5, 215
Experience: 2 years
Age: 23 (Oct. 15, 1988)
2011-12 stats: 2.7 ppg (39.7 FG%), 33 G
Contract status: Signed through 2012-13
2011-12 salary: $1.19 million
2012-13 salary: $1.27 million

His story: Without a first-round draft pick in June 2010, Mavs owner Mark Cuban paid the Memphis Grizzlies $3 million for their 25th overall pick. Intrigued by Jones' parade to the free-throw line via driving to the rack in the rugged Big East Conference, the Mavs took the combo guard, who in Dallas has yet to distinguish himself as either a competent shooting guard or a point guard. Part of the problem is his shooting. He's an awful 3-point shooter (1-of-12 in his career) and doesn't have much touch for a mid-range game either (36.4 percent career shooting). He's adept at plowing into the lane, but without any threat of a shot to go with it he becomes far too one-dimensional to play any kind of extended minutes in this league.

His outlook: To be fair to Jones, for two seasons he's been bumped down the bench by a veteran core of guards that gave him no shot at court time. Without playing, how much can a guy be expected to improve? It's not easy popping in every now and then in garbage time or filling in during an injury as he did some this last season. As for Jones not dressing in the playoffs, it could have just been a numbers game in that the Mavs were so filled up at the guard positions that Rodrigue Beaubois was cut out of the rotation. With Shawn Marion having to play some power forward after Lamar Odom was sent home, Vince Carter was the only other option at small forward, so Carlisle might have felt he needed Azubuike in uniform in case of emergency. If Jones remains on the team next season it's because he's a cheap means to fill out the roster. If he has a role that requires solid minutes off the bench, the Mavs probably will not have had a very good offseason.

The Countdown
No. 15 Lamar Odom
No. 14 Brian Cardinal
No. 13 Yi Jianlian
No. 12 Dominique Jones
No. 11 Coming Friday

When Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson agreed to send $3 million to the Memphis Grizzlies to move into the first round and grab South Florida combo guard Dominique Jones in the 2010 draft, the move was greeted with excitement.

"We are excited to add Dominique to our organization," Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said on that June night in 2010. "He is 6-4 with a 6-9 wingspan and can do a little of everything. He can score, he can rebound and his assist-to-turnover ratio is exceptional."

The only thing exceptional about Jones' first two seasons is his pine time. Clearly stuck behind a deep and veteran unit of guards the last two seasons, Jones has done little to set himself apart. That fact came ringing home in the four-game playoff sweep to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Not only did Jones not play, he didn't dress. The former first-round pick was passed up on the active roster by newcomer Kelenna Azubuike, who played a total of 18 minutes in three games at the end of the season. The former Golden State Warrior had not played in a game in two years before that because a knee injury that jeopardized his career. The Mavs signed him on March 23 with a team option for next summer.

Jones, 23, will be heading into the final year of his contract next season. In 2013-14, the Mavs hold a team option. Of course, it is possible that Jones gets swept up in an offseason trade to create additional cap space.

He saw some time in 33 games this season, up from 18 a year ago. Jones is a good penetrator, he hustles and can play both guard positions. But his biggest impediment is a tough one for a basketball player: He's got no outside shot. He again shot below 40 percent on the season, and to that fact, Jones was the last man on the practice floor with coach Rick Carlisle shooting jumpers during the Mavs' final practice prior to Game 4.

Still, it's hard to get past the fact that Carlisle didn't even dress him in the playoffs in favor of Azubuike.

It wouldn't seem to speak highly for Jones' future in Dallas.

DALLAS -- Mavericks forward Shawn Marion knows he could fall victim to the amnesty clause this summer and be forced to resume his career somewhere else next season.

"I'm a Dallas Maverick right now," Marion said Sunday during the team's exit interviews. "That's all that matters."

Few speak the truth like Marion, even if it's sometimes in his own specialized Matrix language. Still, if you want to know what's up, Marion is the man to talk to. After Games 1 and 2 at Oklahoma City, Marion was fuming that the Mavs put themselves in position to lose both games late, which they did.

He was exasperated that Kevin Durant's Game 1 game-winner totally overshadowed his 10-of-27 shooting performance with Marion locking him down, and he had some choice words about that bucket. On Sunday, as players cleaned out their lockers one day after the Thunder's monstrous fourth-quarter comeback to sweep the series, Marion told it like he sees it.

"You know, to recover from this, we've just got to regroup, refocus and really dig deep inside and decide if you want to go out there and try to win another one. That's the biggest thing," he said. "It's frustrating to be sitting here talking about it, saying how we just got beat in the first round of the playoffs. To go out like that, I'm very disappointed, especially because I really love competing and I try to go out there and lay it on the line every night and just came up short.

"They was a better team. They did everything right and everything bounced their way, and it's frustrating when you're sitting here thinking about, contemplating what's the scenario, this or that. But at the end of the day, we have a lot of free agents on this team and we're going to see what's going to happen for the summer and go from there."

Marion, easily the player who came to training camp in December in the best shape and turned in the most consistent season of anyone on the team, is on the short list of players under contract for next season. The list includes Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter, Brendan Haywood, Brandan Wright (team option), Kalenna Abuzuike, Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

Is that concerning for the 13-year vet?

"I don't know. This is a business, it's a business first. I look at it like that, that's what it is," Marion said. "I know that, I've adjusted to that throughout my career. That's what you have got to take it as first, everything else comes second. It's a business first. It means you've got to have that mindset going into, you know that, that's what you've got to take it as."

DALLAS -- Rodrigue Beaubois figured he knew the consequences if his flair backfired before he wrapped the ball around his back and soared for a SportsCenter-worthy slam dunk to finish a fast break.

“Oh, I’m out, for sure,” Beaubois said when asked what would have happened if he botched the showboat act.

That’s not necessarily the case, according to Rick Carlisle, the man who has emphasized the importance for Roddy B. to make being a competitor the priority over being an entertainer.

As long as Beaubois is competing, Carlisle can deal with the occasional flash. And Beaubois competed up to Carlisle’s standards during the second half of Thursday’s win over the Charlotte Bobcats, scoring eight of his 14 points and grabbing all four of his rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Carlisle demands intense defense and aggressive offense from Beaubois. Give the coach that and he’ll be cool with playing to the crowd a little bit.

“I had no problem with that because he was playing with great intensity at both ends,” Carlisle said. “He was competing hard at both ends. In the first half, he was out there, but he wasn’t a factor. He had no presence. I talked to him about that at halftime, and in the second half, he got in his stance and he made things happen.

“It’s one of the habits that he’s got to continue to develop, and that is the habit of keeping the motor going. It doesn’t come natural to some guys, and so it’s got to be things that keep you on, and we’ll stay on him about it.”

A few more notes from Thursday’s win:

1. Oh no, DoJo: The Mavs came dangerously close to blowing a 17-point lead in the final four minutes. Carlisle thought a 10-point lead was safe with 1:40 remaining an dpulled Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry from the game, but they were back in their five points and 61 seconds later. Reserve guard Dominique Jones especially stunk it up during garbage time, committing a careless turnover and compounding the mistake with a foul seconds later.

“I made the mistake of subbing too early,” Carlisle said. “I shouldn’t have put Jones in there. He went in there and half-stepped it.”

2. Matrix plays in pain: Shawn Marion’s left knee didn’t feel good despite taking Wednesday’s practice off. “Hell no,” Marion said. “I’m good, though. I’ll fight through it.”

Marion is the only Maverick who has played every game this season, but he didn’t play particularly well against the Bobcats. He had four points on 2-of-8 shooting, six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. Carlisle said that the Mavs wouldn’t let Marion play if there was any question about whether he would benefit from sitting out a game or two.

3. Dallas dumping grounds: The presence of three ex-Mavericks at the end of the Bobcats’ bench is evidence of what a miserably managed franchise Michael Jordan’s Bobcats are. DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera will combine to make $13.6 million this season. They combined to score four points and grab three rebounds in the Bobcats’ loss to the Mavs, with Carroll and Diop never taking off their warm-ups.

The Mavs shipped Diop to Charlotte months after making a massive mistake by giving him the full midlevel exception in 2008, getting Carroll and rental reserve center Ryan Hollins in exchange. Diop will make $7.3 million next season.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban somehow convinced Jordan to take the contracts of Carroll and Najera off the Mavs’ hands in what was supposed to be a Tyson Chandler salary dump. Najera comes off the books this summer, but Carroll is due another $3.5 million next season.

How it happened: The Dallas Mavericks showed little will early on to produce any other outcome than what went down Saturday night at Oracle Arena. The Warriors led by 19 points midway through the second quarter as the Mavs' body language matched their intensity level. A seemingly total lack of interest allowed for a double-digit deficit in the first quarter.

Yes, it was the final game of the brutal, nine-in-12 stretch and it was Dallas' fifth game in six nights. But, for a team desperate for a win, the Mavs started out looking desperate just to get back in their own beds. The silver lining here is that they have two days off with two of the worst teams in the league coming to the American Airlines Center. The Washington Wizards are there Tuesday followed by the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday.

If either of those teams comes in and somehow continues the Mavs' misery, then look out, this season will officially be under the gun.

Jason Kidd took Saturday night off after playing 30 minutes in Phoenix and 22 in Sacramento on this three-in-three. Center Brendan Haywood (sprained left ankle) dressed, but he did not play for a fourth consecutive game.

Dallas showed a pulse as it cut a 19-point lead to seven in the third quarter, but the Warriors continued to create turnovers and hit 3-pointers (7-of-14 after three quarters) to keep the Mavs at a safe distance. By the time the period was over, Golden State, led by Monta Ellis' 17 third-quarter points (20 overall) pumped up the lead to first-half levels -- 17, 83-66.

Through three quarters, the Warriors shot 55.2 percent while the Mavs were mired at 38.6 percent.

Dallas had three players score in double figures. Dirk Nowitzki had 22 on 7-of-16 shooting, Jason Terry had 15 and Rodrigue Beaubois had 12. David Lee had 21 of his 25 in the decisive first half. Nate Robinson destroyed Dallas off the bench with 21 points, including three 3-pointers.

What it means: The Mavs finish the nine-in-12 with a 2-7 record and get swept in their lone back-to-back-to-back of the season. They have lost eight of their last 10 and seven in a row on the road (8-13 overall). Dallas heads home with a 23-20 record and in eighth place in the Western Conference. They have not been as few as three games over .500 since the Feb. 4 loss at Cleveland to drop to 14-11.

Bold play of the game: With the Mavs trying to keep chipping away, Jason Terry made a terrible pass from the corner to the free throw line that was picked off by Ellis for a 14th turnover midway through the third quarter. Ellis soared in for the layup and was lackadaisically fouled by Dominique Jones. Although Ellis missed the free throw, it still put Golden State back up 12, 69-57. The Warriors ended the period with a flurry to go up by 17.

Stat of the game: On a night the Mavs could have used an I-got-your-back game from Lamar Odom, he finishes with three points on 1-of-6 shooting in just 16:28 before getting a few extra minutes of garbage time late in the game.

Our weekly look at the Mavericks' young players:

If Rodrigue Beaubois is going to prove he's a big-leaguer and worthy of being in the Mavericks' future plans, his time is now. The minutes are going to come for Beaubois during this stretch of nine games in 12 nights that started in brutal fashion Tuesday with a 93-92 loss to the New Jersey Nets.

Beaubois logged 24 minutes of mixed results in his first game action since Feb. 8. He missed the last five because of the death of his father and didn't play at all in the three games before that because coach Rick Carlisle put the shackles back on him.

But with Delonte West injured and out likely another three weeks, Dallas is desperate to keep Jason Kidd's minutes at 30 a game. To do that, the Mavs must get quality minutes out of their soft-spoken third-year guard.

DALLAS -- Even as Lamar Odom has struggled to find his shot and generally fit in with the Dallas Mavericks, coach Rick Carlisle has noted that Odom playing even just 20 minutes a game allows Dirk Nowitzki stay around a very manageable 32.

That will be put to the test again Tuesday as it would appear that Odom will not be in uniform. Carlisle said after Monday's practice that Odom remains away from the team tending to a family issue. A source confirmed that Odom left the team Wednesday because of his ill father, who resides in Los Angeles.

Odom missed Wednesday's 96-91 home loss to the Lakers and Nowitzki logged 36 minutes, not a terribly high number, but certainly such games can add up as the Mavs begin a stretch of nine games in 12 days Tuesday against the New Jersey Nets.

"We have a lot of games coming up, a lot of back-to-backs so we’ve got to get our rest," Nowitzki said. "We’re going to need our bench to play well, that’s for sure."

Without Odom, Yi Jianlian spelled Nowitzki at times against the Lakers. Brandan Wright can play power forward, but he has been used mostly at center. Shawn Marion is also capable of switching from small forward to power forward.

"We’re an older team and those young guys; we’re glad Roddy’s back and DoJo and we’re going to need some fresh legs to make some stuff happen," Nowitzki said, referring to guards Rodrigue Beaubois and Dominique Jones. "Brandan Wright’s got young legs and those guys need to come play for us."

Beaubois returned to practice Monday. He missed the last five games following the death of his father.

Our weekly look at which Mavs stocks have risen and fallen the most:

STOCK UP
Dominique Jones – The Mavs’ fourth-string point guard hasn’t looked like he’s in totally over his head when forced to play significant minutes recently. Jones has averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 assists in 19.4 minutes per night in five games since Delonte West fractured his right ring finger and Roddy Beaubois has been on personal leave. Coach Rick Carlisle didn’t trust Jones enough to play him more than 4:30 against the Lakers, but the Mavs have been encouraged by the young guard’s aggressiveness as a penetrator and defender.

STOCK DOWN
Lamar Odom – It was another rough week for Odom even before he missed the Lakers game for personal reasons, which were reportedly to see his ill father. Odom was 5-of-19 from the floor in the previous three games and played especially poorly during the Mavs’ visit to his hometown. The Mavs were outscored by 17 points in Odom’s 20 minutes during the loss to the New York Knicks. He had a careless turnover that led to a breakaway layup by Jeremy Lin that was a key play in the Knicks’ run to rally from a 12-point deficit.

Our weekly look at the Mavericks' young players.

The Mavericks' two young guys with French roots are going through difficult times. Sadly, third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois remains home in Guadeloupe with his family after the unexpected death of his father last week. Prior to that, Beaubois was planted back on the bench since the return of Jason Kidd.

Beaubois is expected to return to town this week during the All-Star break and hopefully his state of mind will allow him to focus on basketball. It's an important month ahead f0r Dallas with a ton of games following the All-Star break. There's a heavy road slate, and Delonte West (fractured right finger) will remain sidelined for at least three more weeks.

Dominique Jones has picked up valuable minutes at point guard during Beaubois' absence and has shown relatively well. How coach Rick Carlisle uses his two young guards coming out of the All-Star break will be interesting. Beaubois has been the clear choice over Jones. Has Jones played well enough to change that?

Now, what has happened to Ian Mahinmi?

Since his 17-point, nine-rebound explosion in 29 minutes on Jan. 23 against Phoenix, the 6-foot-11 center has not played more than 22 minutes and in the last eight games he has not played more than 16 minutes. In the last four games, Mahinmi is averaging nine minutes, 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds. He is 0-of-3 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the free throw line.

A big reason for Mahinmi's decreased time is obviously the fine play of youngster Brandan Wright, who is still often the third center off the bench, but at times plays more then Mahinmi and Brendan Haywood.

For Mahinmi, the recent downturn is disappointing considering the remarkable start he got of to, practically splitting the center minutes evenly with Haywood. Iit's become, as Carlisle calls it, a three-headed monster rotation, with Mahinmi often now being the third head.

Mahinmi has already played more minutes (560) in 31 games than he's played in any of his previous three seasons, but he says that's not a factor.

"I feel great," Mahinmi said. "I just have to continue working and continue to battle."

DALLAS -- The severely undermanned Boston Celtics managed to stay in it early by doing what they do best -- not allowing many points. They don't score many either and with playmaker extraordinaire Rajon Rondo suspended, don't expect a lot of points.

Dirk Nowitzki has seven points and that vaulted him to No. 20 on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He also recorded his 1,000th career block.

The Celtics went 6-of-20 from the field, just better than Dallas' 9-of-24.

Brendan Haywood and Dominique Jones each have four points. Paul Pierce and Texas-ex Avery Bradley both have six points.

DALLAS – It will take extreme circumstances for Jason Kidd to be pushed past the 30-minute limit.

Even more extreme than his two primary backups not being available.

Delonte West will miss several weeks due to a fractured and dislocated right ring finger, and Rodrigue Beaubois is still away from the team while grieving his father’s unexpected death. That means the Mavs must get at least 18 minutes of point guard play per night from the duo of Dominique Jones and Jason Terry.

Jones and Terry aren’t pure point guards by any stretch, but the Mavs are willing to live with their mistakes to save wear and tear on Kidd’s legs.

“We want to be vigilant about this,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “You never say never, but right now we’ve been pretty consistent with it.”

They’ve been extremely consistent with it. Kidd is averaging a career-low 28.3 minutes per game. His minutes totals since returning from a strained right calf: 27, 31, 26, 22, 30 and 28. The 31-minute stint came in the double-overtime win over the Trail Blazers, when Kidd sat out the second OT.

NEW YORK -- Jason Terry is expected to join the Mavericks in the Big Apple tonight and should be available to play in Sunday's noon tip against instant sensation Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks, coach Rick Carlisle said.

Terry missed the last two games, the first on Wednesday with a mild right quadriceps strain, and Friday's game at Philadelphia due to personal reasons. The Mavs won both games and ride into Madison Square Garden sporting a season-best win streak of six games and a season-high nine games over .500.

His return will be welcomed considering Delonte West is out of action for at least a month after he underwent surgery to stabilize his fractured right right finger and Rodrigue Beaubois has left the team to be with his family after the death of his father.

Still, Dallas managed to win both games without Terry, their second-leading scorer. His return could limit Dominique Jones' role, although the second-year guard might have impressed enough to earn some time with two solid outings in wins over the Nuggets and Sixers.

"All things considered I'm very pleased with what he's done these two games," Carlisle said. "He's played the backup point position, he defended, he's done what we've asked within our system, so it's been very positive."

Jones has played a total of 52 minutes in the last two games, nearly his prior total for the season. After dishing out six assists with four points and four rebounds in 31 minutes Wednesday. At Philadelphia, he led the Mavs in scoring in the first half with seven of his 12 points. His one knock was five turnovers in 21 minutes against the Sixers after just one in the previous game.

Dirk Nowitzki knew that he probably needed to put the Dallas Mavericks on his shoulders from an offensive perspective with Jason Terry unavailable against the Philadelphia 76ers.

It just took Nowitzki a half to follow through on the plan.

What a show it was once Dirk did get going.

Nowitzki thawed out after a 2-of-11 first half to torch Philadelphia for 24 points in the second half, matching the Sixers’ total for the final 24 minutes. Dirk had a dozen points in the third quarter and a dozen more in the fourth to key the Mavs’ biggest comeback of the season and an 82-75 win.

“I really tried to find my rhythm early and get some baskets and get going, but for some reason that first half it just wasn’t happening,” said Nowitzki, who finished with 28 points after hitting 8 of 11 shots from the floor in the second half. “I felt like I had some good looks there, but just didn’t have a good rhythm and some of the stuff was short.

“In the second half, I really had the same mindset but just had a couple go in. We all know when a shooter sees a couple go in, the confidence goes up. … I just rolled from there.”

It was Nowitzki’s seventh 20-plus-point performance in the past eight games, but he was in the midst of a mini-slump at the half. He had hit only 19 of his last 58 shots from the floor over the previous three-and-a-half games before catching fire in the third quarter, when he was 5-of-6 from the floor, hitting a pair of transition 3-pointers and a few midrange jumpers, highlighted by a high-degree-of-difficulty one-legged leanaway off the dribble.

“At this point, this is not a shock,” coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki’s second-half shooting exhibition.

No, it’s not a shock. There have been precious few players in NBA history to score as prolifically for one team as Nowitzki has for the Mavs.

In fact, there are only nine players who have scored more points for a single team than Nowitzki, according to the Elias Sports Bureau: Utah’s Karl Malone (36,374); Chicago’s Michael Jordan (29,277); the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant (28,699); Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon (26,511); Boston’s John Havlicek (26,395); Indiana’s Reggie Miller (25,279); the Lakers’ Jerry West (25,192); the Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (24,176); and New York’s Patrick Ewing (23,665). Nowitzki (23,294) moved past Atlanta’s Dominique Wilkins (23,292) on Friday night.

A few more notes from the Mavs’ victory:

1. D for dominant: The Mavs moved past the Lakers as the team with the lowest field goal percentage allowed after stifling the Sixers in the second half. Philadelphia shot a season-low 33.7 percent from the floor, including 9-of-42 in the second half.

“The story of the game was our defense,” Carlisle said. “We only allowed 24 points in the second half, which is a phenomenal job defensively. They missed some shots, but our guys were into it. Right now, that’s our identity as a team. We’re a defense-first team.”

2. Jason Kidd and the kid: The Mavs remain determined to limit their 38-year-old floor general’s minutes despite Delonte West's extended absence due to his mangled right ring finger. That makes production from Dominique Jones -- and Rodrigue Beaubois, once he returns from a personal leave -- a must.

Jones, the rarely used second-year guard from South Florida, provided 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 21 minutes against the Sixers.

“Dominique Jones filling in did a terrific job, all things considered,” Carlisle said.

Kidd played nine seconds less than his limit of 30 minutes and had arguably his best all-around performance of the season. He scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out eight assists, swiped two steals and even blocked a shot. His most important stat: a plus-minus of 28 points on the positive side, which included a 9-0 run that gave the Mavs the lead for good after Kidd re-entered the game in the fourth quarter.

“That is why he is one of the top players of all time,” Carlisle said.

3. Matrix’s magnificence: Shawn Marion had a miserable night offensively, misfiring on 10 of 13 shots, including a dunk and several other attempts close to the bucket. That didn’t stop him from putting on another defensive clinic against point guards.

Marion, the 6-foot-7 small forward who has been primarily a defending point guard since Kidd’s return from a strained right calf five games ago, made life miserable for Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday (three points, 0-9 FG, two assists).

At least Holiday is in good company. Denver’s Ty Lawson had three points on 1-of-8 shooting and two assists in a Wednesday loss to the Mavs. Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio and the Clippers’ Chris Paul also had subpar performances while being harassed by Marion, a 13-year veteran who is making a strong case for his first All-Defense Team appearance.